| A portion of the grapes
harvested was fermented wild, using yeasts that are naturally occurring
on the skins, giving an appealing liquorice and fennel nose. The use of
long, preferment cold soaking, whole berries and no pumping of grapes
or skins give an intense colour and soft tannins. Particular attention
is paid to harvest the grapes at optimum ripeness, which is particularly
important with Pinotage, giving a wine with greater depth than many with
perfect balance. |
| Appelation |
Western Cape |
| Area
Planted |
9.2 ha |
| Age of
Vines |
5 Years |
| Rootstock |
R99, 101-14, Paulsen |
| Clone |
PI 50A, PI 48 A |
| Trellis
System |
6 Wire vertical shoot positioning
(VSP), Period, Extended Period |
| Irrigation |
Drip |
| Vine
Density |
2222 Vines per ha |
| Soil |
Karoo Sand, Shale |
| Climate |
Semi arid, winter rain |
| Type |
Mostly Hand Picked |
| Date |
12 February - 12 March |
| Yield |
12.5 tons |
| Crushing |
Grapes chilled to Zero,
many whole berries, and minimum 2 week cold soak before fermentation. |
| Tanks |
Stainless steel with cooling
jackets |
| Fermentation |
4 different yeasts in separate
ferments, and 1 tank fermented with natural yeasts, whole berries in ferments,
pressed off around 5B. |
| Malolactic |
Inoculated and Spontaneous |
| Barrel
Ageing |
None |
| Fining |
None |
| Filtration |
Crossflow Filtration |
| Stabilisation |
None |
| Chipping
|
Own mix of American and
French in equal quantities, wood powder made on site from Staves. Total
of 1.5g/litre |
| Alcohol |
14.47 |
Free SO2 |
34 |
| Sugar |
2.7 |
Total SO2 |
50 |
| Total
Acid |
4.7 |
pH |
3.72 |
| Volatile
Acid |
0.71 |
|
|
|